Over the past few years, Disney has drastically changed its theatrical release schedule for its animated films.  Back in 2019, “Toy Story 4” and “Frozen 2” took over six months to go from an initial release before arriving on Disney+, but then the pandemic hit.   Pixar’s “Onward” had barely been out in cinemas for a week before most of the world closed down and cinemas around the world shut down, leaving the film in limbo; Disney quickly released the film on digital platforms and on Disney+.

Since then, a number of animated films like “Soul”, “Turning Red”, and “Luca” were released directly onto Disney+ during the pandemic when the majority of cinemas were still closed.  Disney+ needed content while production on most live-action films and shows had either halted or slowed down.   Disney also tried some other release strategies one people started to go back to the cinemas, but not in the numbers that had done pre-pandemic, with “Raya And The Last Dragon” had a hybrid release of a theatrical run with Disney+ Premiere Access and “Lightyear” spent just 45 days in cinemas before heading to Disney+.

While the last two Walt Disney Animated Studios films, “Encanto” and “Strange World”, had just a short 30-day theatrical release over the Thanksgiving period, and arrived on Disney+ just in time to give the streaming service a boost for the Christmas period.

This year, Disney has two animated films on the release schedule, Pixar’s “Elemental”, which is due to arrive in cinemas in June and “Wish”, which will get the traditional Thanksgiving slot.  But according to a recent report by THR, these films won’t be getting a short 30 or 45-day theatrical release, instead, they will be getting a longer run at the cinema.  So it looks very unlikely that “Wish” will be this year’s big new film for the Christmas period, like “Strange World” and “Encanto”.

With the shift to animated films being released directly onto Disney+ or shortly after a cinema release, many have speculated that Disney has basically trained its audience to expect the newest animated films on Disney+, either straight away or so quickly, that there was little point going to the cinema.   As the cost of living crisis puts a strain on families, the added cost of going to the cinema, snacks, parking and other costs, has means that generally, families haven’t returned to the cinema in the same way as adults have to major blockbusters like “Avatar: The Way Of Water”, “Top Gun: Maverick” or “Spider-Man: No Way Home”.

The long wait between a theatrical release and when new films arrive on Disney+ is no doubt going to become more common, it will unlikely go back to the six to nine months that was standard before the pandemic, but as Disney looks to make more money from its films at the box office and make movies more profitable.  As more stats become available from third-party companies like Nielsen and Samba, films that have had a theatrical release are pulling in just as many viewers as a direct-to-streaming film, often more, with the added benefit of making money at the box office.

With Disney CEO Bob Iger recently announcing they are planning more films from franchises like “Zootopia”, “Frozen” and “Toy Story”, all of which have had billion-dollar box office incomes, it’s hardly surprising that Disney wants things to go back to how they were before the pandemic.   So it’s very likely that both “Elemental” and “Wish”, plus other theatrical releases, take a little longer to arrive on Disney+ in the future.

What do you think of Disney extending the time it takes to have a film released on Disney+?  Let us know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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